AGGLUTINATION OF ERYTHROCYTES EVALUATED B Y ULTRASONIC INTERFEROMETRY

Ultrasound interferometry is a new methodology which has been developp ed in our laboratories in order to measure precisely and quickly the s ize of particles sedimenting in liquid on horizontal surface, upon gra vity. Applied to red blood cells, this method evaluates the sedimentat ion of erythrocytes, their aggregation induced by proteins or aggregat ing compounds as well as their agglutination upon immune reactions. Th e quantitative assessment of red cell agglutination was applied to the study of blood groups and to the search for red cell antibodies. Prel iminary results show that ultrasound interferometry is 1) quantitative , measuring the size of agglutinates; 2) sensitive; 3) specific; 4) fa st; 5) able to detect irregular antibodies.